NiGHTS' Dark Nightmare
by Majin K
Summary: This takes place after the false ending in NiGHTS Journey of Dreams, Wizeman and Reala are still alive, NiGHTS is inside the Night Dimension, and a girl named Laura Jacobs takes her turn to explore the worlds of her dreams Rated T for violence
1. Welcome to Nightopia

It's a cloudy day at St. Ricket High School, all the students are inside doing their usual business in class. In one particular class, a young girl named Laura Jacobs sits at her desk, with her notebook open, scribbling notes. The day goes just fine for her until the end of day bell rings. As she leaves the school, she feels she is being followed. She then turns to see a group of teachers and students behind her. Before Laura can ask why they're following, the group suddenly chases after her. She ran for her life, wondering why they were chasing when she hadn't done anything. She runs into an alleyway and evades the group.

"Why are they after me?" she asks herself, "I didn't do anything wrong."

She continues walking through the alley, looks back and sees the path she took no longer exists. Panic soon sets in as she looks around to see nothing but darkness. Spirits soon appear from the darkness and begin to haunt her. Laura ran for her life, to see a bright light. Preferring the light to the spirits, she just kept running. The next thing she knew, she's in a plaza that looks like a park, with a large fountain in the middle, 3 doors on the left with 3 broken door frames on the right, and a large set of stairs at the far end.

"Where am I? What is this place?" she again asked herself.

"Why, this is the Night Dimension, Visitor."

The voice sounded like an elder person speaking. Laura looked around for the person talking, but saw no one. Again the voice spoke.

"I'm right here, Visitor. To your left."

Laura looked to her left, still saw no one there aside from an owl in a vest wearing glasses.

"Hello there little owl, are you lost?" she asked it.

"'little owl'? I am Owl, and I oversee everything in the Night Dimension" Owl said.

Needless to say, this surprised Laura. She picked up Owl and looked around and saw there were no strings nor mechanics. This wasn't a really pleasant experience for Owl either.

"You won't really find anything making that old owl talk if you look like that" a cheerful voice said.

Laura let go of Owl, who scoffed, and looked around. She saw a jester-like person float down in front of her.

"NiGHTS, must I remind you to respect your elders?" Owl said to the creature.

NiGHTS simply ignored Owl and turned its attention to Laura. The girl just stood there, in utter confusion, looking at both NiGHTS and Owl.

"Who are you two?" Laura asked.

"I'm NiGHTS, and you already met the old bird here. But his lectures are pretty boring, how about having some fun?"

"…what kind of fun?" she asked NiGHTS

"You'll see, just touch my hand, that's all."

As the awkward introductions were getting done, in the dark realm of Nightmare, the creator of it, Wizeman, and his henchman, Reala, oversee the creation of a new Nightmaren.

"Reala, you will command this new Nightmaren. I expect good things to come." The dark lord himself said.

"I will see to it, Master Wizeman." Reala replied.

This new Nightmaren had gray skin with a gray outfit similar to Reala's. He has a yellow outline on his body and shoes, and had dark stripes on the head spikes. His eyes were golden yellow as well, and he has a purple cloak over his body. The Nightmaren opened his eyes and looked around, wondering who, what, and where he is. He looks at himself, then at Reala and Wizeman. As if by instinct, he bows down to Wizeman and Reala.

"You have been created as a new servant to me," Wizeman began to say, "I am your creator, you may refer to me as Wizeman."

The Nightmaren just looked at Wizeman while still bowing and nods.

"Your name is Luminix. You will serve under Reala's order, however you will always answer to me. Do I make myself clear?"

Luminix just looked at Wizeman and nodded, then said "As you wish, Master Wizeman."

"Good. Now then I want you to go out and find a traitorous Nightmaren named NiGHTS and bring him to me. Alive or dead, it matters not to me"

Luminix simply nodded and disappeared. Reala expressed some concern about Luminix, unsure if he can be any successful since he was just created.

Back in the Night Dimension, Laura and NiGHTS go into the first dream door. Laura feels more content now knowing that NiGHTS and Owl are not her enemies, but friends. She's about to explore the world of her dreams.

* * *

This is my first NiGHTS fanfic, so please be gentle with the criticism. Yes, I introduced my NiGHTS fan character, Luminix in this one. Unlike most NiGHTS games, in which it's a cheery attitude throughout, I'm gonna take this one down a dark path. I hope you enjoy.


	2. Return of Cerberus

"This is the Dream Door to Nightopia. When you enter, you will see the world reflected off of your heart." Owl told Laura as she and NiGHTS got near one of the doors in the Dream Gate.

Excited to see this world, and completely ignoring the part about it being reflected off of her heart, Laura rushed right in followed by NiGHTS and Owl. She expected to see a bright and colorful place when she entered, instead she sees a very large mansion surrounded by a forest of dead trees, cloaked under a night sky with clouds looming overhead. Thunder can be heard as the lightning flashes throughout the sky. Some Nightopians can be seen fleeing from the mansion as Laura looks around

"This is Nightopia? It's a lot…darker than what I expected" Laura said, with a bit of concern.

"Well this is supposed to be a reflection off of your own heart," Owl stated, "If you feel it is dark, then perhaps there is some darkness in your heart"

Laura just looked around again, and then focused on the mansion. NiGHTS let out a shiver as the aura around the area seemed to give off negative feelings. Being a cheerful type, this area wasn't exactly suiting to NiGHTS. Laura, on the other hand, seemed to be perfectly fine, as she walked towards the mansion, seemingly entranced by its majesty. Owl of course stayed outside, feeling it would be safer, but NiGHTS followed her. The mansion was very bright on the inside, with lights everywhere, making it virtually impossible for any darkness to seep inside. The sudden light forced Laura and NiGHTS to shield their eyes for a moment.

"This place is beautiful!" Laura exclaimed, her eyes lighting up.

"yeah, I'll say" NiGHTS agreed, looking around.

The two wandered around the mansion, wondering what could have gotten the Nightopians so afraid. Everything so far looks relatively nice, no hint of Nightmarens or any other creatures anywhere. As they continued wandering around, NiGHTS got that chill again, making him freeze in place. He had a bad feeling about this place, but Laura didn't seem to notice. It was when she opened another door that everything seemed to become twisted and blurry.

"Laura get back!" NiGHTS shouted as he went and grabbed her.

Down from the ceiling came a Nightmaren that NiGHTS had never seen before. It looked similar to his own design, its cloak blowing in the nonexistent wind. It was Luminix, just as Wizeman sent.

"Who...who are you?" NiGHTS asked.

Luminix just looked at them for a moment, then spoke up. "Me? You can just call me Luminix. And you must be NiGHTS, correct?"

"And if I am?"

"Simply put, Master Wizeman wants me to bring you back home. But I figured we could have a little fun first"

Luminix reached one hand out of his cloak, his hand glowing as a cage surrounds NiGHTS, imprisoning him and rising into the air. Laura watched as her friend was being captured right in front of her. Before she could do anything, she was knocked back by Luminix, who merely shook a finger at her.

"I hope you're as fun as I imagine. I think I'll get Cerberus to come here and find out. See ya."

Luminix vanished in a cloud of purple smoke as Laura wondered how to get NiGHTS out.

"Cerberus…again??" NiGHTS asked himself as he saw Laura's hands glow with the red Ideya. "Laura, you have the red Ideya! You can use that to get me out of here, just dualize with me and we can both get out"

"O-Ok!" Laura shouted back as she started to climb the chain to the cage, her hands already hurting from the metal.

Laura finally makes it, and NiGHTS dualizes with her, with her power they escape the cage and start to pursue the Nightmaren guard for the keys. However, the mansion is more mazelike than anything NiGHTS has ever seen, and it takes a while for NiGHTS to even _find_ the guard before chasing it. The guard, on the other hand, was already on its way back to the cage to see if NiGHTS was still there, to its surprise it found that NiGHTS was not there, and began to follow NiGHTS' trail. (A/N: It's such a pain in the ass when you're writing about someone who doesn't have a gender)

"We've been flying for hours, where's the key?" Laura asked, getting impatient.

"This place is a lot bigger than it looks from the outside. I dunno how long it'll take before we-" NiGHTS was saying, just as they both spotted the guard heading right towards them. "Well, looks like there's your answer, Laura."

"Ironic"

And with a swift paralooping, the guard was beaten and the key snatched. The two flew back to the cage to fully unlock it to set NiGHTS free, at this point Laura was no longer dualized.

"Laura, get away from here, quickly. Cerberus is going to be coming by, and it's pretty vicious." NiGHTS warned her.

Laura trusted her friend's words and quickly ran into one of the corridors of the mansion. She hoped the NiGHTS would be ok alone. NiGHTS waited and kept up a good guard, aware that Cerberus could strike from any direction at any time. It was then that he could feel the air changing, giving off a dark vibe. He looks around to try and spot Cerberus, but to no avail. Cerberus was indeed in the room, but it wasn't visible in this realm. It goes to attack, and pulls NiGHTS into its own realm. The blue and red dogs, attached to the chain, both let out a loud howl as the yellow dog appears on the chain itself. All 3 dogs are ready to attack NiGHTS, thus his 2nd battle with Cerberus is about to begin!


	3. Boss Battle and Conflict

NiGHTS stared at the demon dogs, seeing their bloodthirsty look on their faces. He could tell they were just waiting for another meal. He dealt with them before, but that was before he lost his persona masks, and now can't turn into his rocket form anymore. Before NiGHTS could even think of what to do, the red and blue dogs lunged at him, nearly biting his head off.

"Hey! Give me some time to think!" NiGHTS shouted at the beasts as he barely escaped becoming lunch.

The only response he got from the dogs is a loud barking or a growl. NiGHTS couldn't think at this point, he had to improvise. He started flying around to avoid their attacks, trying to see if it was possible at all to sneak up on the chain. When he got close, he finds that the gold dog doesn't go into hiding anymore, and remains visible at all times. NiGHTS sweat dropped at this point, finding that to be a nuisance. To avoid getting bit again, he flew away from Cerberus again, and hid behind one of the pillars to try and come up with some kind of idea.

Hiding was the worst possible thing to do, as Cerberus as able to find NiGHTS by following his scent. Within seconds, the red and blue dogs jumped from both sides of the pillar at NiGHTS and leapt at him. All he had time to do was duck, and that's all it took. A loud crash was heard, followed by the howling of both dogs as they staggered back. NiGHTS looked and saw that they had ended up damaging each other.

Meanwhile, in another area of the mansion, Laura wanders the halls, trying to find some way out.

"I hope NiGHTS is alright…I don't think I should have left him behind" she said to herself.

"I don't believe NiGHTS is the one you should be worried about" a dark voice said, as the owner of said voice floated down behind Laura.

"Who sa-" she was cut off as the mystery being grabbed her from behind, covering her mouth. All Laura could see were blue hands with black claws.

"Now then, you're going to be a good little girl and do exactly as I say, understood?"

Laura nodded slightly, afraid of what her captor might do if she refused.

"Good. If my suspicions are correct, then NiGHTS should dispatch of the Nightmaren he is currently battling rather soon"

Meanwhile, NiGHTS was flying around Cerberus, avoiding getting bitten and clawed to death. Cerberus was more ferocious than the last time they did battle. Even the third head was attacking, not giving NiGHTS the break he needed to get an edge over this battle. Remembering what happened a moment ago, NiGHTS tries to land on one of the dogs' heads, but finds it difficult due to their constant moving. His first attempt ended up with his hand being nearly bit clean off. Second attempt almost ended up with his decapitation via claws. So after two failed attempts, NiGHTS decided to go behind one of the pillars again, hoping the dogs would do what they did before, or at least to give himself some time to come up with a plan.

"_They're smarter than last time…this isn't good_" NiGHTS thought to himself.

At that point, Cerberus caught onto NiGHTS' scent again and leapt at him, this time from one side, not what he was expecting. He was hit by their claws and sent back a distance, the hit drawing blood from his face. After he regained his composure, NiGHTS wiped the blood off his face, and turned to Cerberus. Focusing his power, he dashed right at the dogs and climbed onto the red dog's head. In its confusion, it started to run rampant, but NiGHTS pulled on its ears to steer it in a sense, causing it to collide with the blue dog. Running at full speed, and with hard bodies, the collision caused major damage to Cerberus, resulting in its defeat.

NiGHTS sat on the ground, leaning against a wall to catch his breath. The battle had taken a toll on him. He felt the blood from his wound drip down his face. Using his magic, he healed the wound and looked around, when he hears a voice calling out to him. It was Laura's voice.

"NiGHTS! Help me!" she shouted from where Reala was holding her. Her calls, however, were part of Reala's plan.

NiGHTS heard the calls and immediately flew in her direction, mentally slapping himself for forgetting about her. Laura's call to NiGHTS gets louder as he gets closer. As he enters the room, Reala's trap springs and NiGHTS is teleported to another world, which appears to be similar to their previous battle outside the Clock tower. Reala holds Laura in his arms, with one hand covering her mouth, and he looks at NiGHTS with an evil grin.

"It's been quite some time, hasn't it NiGHTS?" Reala said, greeting NiGHTS.

"Reala, you did this last time. Let her go and I won't have to hurt you" NiGHTS replied.

"You? Hurt me? Don't make me laugh. You wouldn't want to risk hurting this Visitor, now would you?"

NiGHTS was left speechless in anger.

"Now, all you have to do is get rid of this visitor and return, simple as that" Reala told him, striking fear in Laura.

All she could think of is how to escape and whether or not NiGHTS really would kill her. All of these thoughts raced through her mind while Reala kept his evil smirk. NiGHTS stood there, looking at Reala in disgust and hate. He knew Reala would do anything to try and bring him back to Wizeman, but even this was a new low. NiGHTS felt his hatred for Reala rise, and with this hatred came a rise in his power as well.

"What will the choice be, NiGHTS? Either way, this visitor dies here and now."

There was silence from NiGHTS' end, but there was also movement. NiGHTS raised his hands high and his power just burst straight out, flying up into the mansion and coming out of the roof, it swirled in the sky, then broke into several smaller blasts that rained down, all aimed at Reala. Reala himself became distracted by the attack, and with the drop in his guard, nights swooped in and grabbed Laura just before the blasts all hit Reala. They flew out of the mansion and went back to the dream door, out into the Dream Gate. Reala survived the attack, but noticed the two were gone.

"WHAAAAT!?" Wizeman shouted in disbelief as Reala and Luminix reported about NiGHTS' latest victory.

"I expected better from both of you, especially you, Reala. And you, Luminix, you were-"

"Master Wizeman, if I may?" Luminix interrupted, "I was fully aware of NiGHTS' power to defeat Cerberus. I simply wanted to see his power for myself so I could formulate a plan to bring him down myself. I have taken full note of his abilities and have come up with a viable plan." He said

"Very well. I do not expect another failure from you again, Luminix. Should you fail me again, I will see to it that you will be destroyed." Wizeman warned.

"I understand completely, Master Wizeman. Now if you'll excuse me." Luminix replied as he left.

Back in the Dream Gate, NiGHTS and Laura caught their breath as NiGHTS held up the blue Ideya he got from Cerberus.

"Just 3 more and we can stop Wizeman and protect your dreams" NiGHTS told her, getting a smile and a hug in return.

The two went to the next door and entered.


	4. Lost

"Wow, this place is pretty…barren" Laura said as she looked around the wasteland that is the second Nightopian world.

Nothing but a desolate wasteland for miles, sand, rocks, debris, and the remains of Nightopians and Nightmarens who died here from either starvation, dehydration, or other causes. Even the bones of the deceased are rotting away. Laura looked around, carefully taking a few steps, her heart beating like there's no tomorrow, it was a scary feeling, yet at the same time she felt excited, being in a strange place so far from home, even if it was just a dream.

"I thought you said Nightopia is supposed to be a cheerful place, a place full of happiness and wonders" she said to NiGHTS.

But before NiGHTS could answer, another voice intervened.

"Ah, but this IS a place of happiness, if you prefer destruction and death"

NiGHTS immediately recognized the voice; he started looking around for the source.

"Come out, Luminix, I know you're around here somewhere!" he shouted out.

As he said that, Luminix merely floated down in front of them, his cloak blowing in the wind, a faint smirk on his face. (_A/N: If you have the Sonic Rush Adventure soundtrack, I suggest listening to "Cutscene – Nervous" at this point. It fits the mood)_

"Come now, NiGHTS. Is that any way to treat your younger brother?" Luminix asked, soon noticing the shocked expression on Laura's face. He chuckled, and then asked "what's the matter, Visitor? Didn't NiGHTS tell you that he's a Nightmaren like me?"

"Y-you're…a Nightmaren?" she asked, now a bit more nervous.

NiGHTS just looked down at the ground, then back at Laura and nodded slightly. She backed away from him, afraid of what the two might do to her. At this point, Luminix raised both hands in the air making the ground rumble. A digital outline appeared on the ground, up close it doesn't look like anything, but from a bird's eye view, it's clearly a maze. _(A/N: You can stop the music now)_

"What the?" NiGHTS said, as the outline soon became a large maze, walls rising up as high as 15 feet into the air.

Luminix then separated NiGHTS and Laura to opposite ends of the maze. He created a Psychokinetic barrier over the top to prevent NiGHTS from flying out.

"Now then, how about a little fun?" the gray Nightmaren said, "I've put you both at opposite ends of this maze. All you have to do to win is find each other, then escape. Oh and NiGHTS, don't try to fly out. You wouldn't want to know what happens if you do. If you escape, then the magic show will begin. Oh, and I almost forgot, I have summoned the Awakers, and I suspect they will be here in about 5 minutes. So, if you want to win, I suggest you hurry. I will be waiting, have fun" he finished his speech as he flew off to the end of the maze.

It now became a race against time for NiGHTS and Laura, Laura now realizing after all they've been through, she can trust NiGHTS despite the fact that he is a Nightmaren. The two ran and flew through the maze, NiGHTS, believing Luminix's claim was a bluff, tried flying out only to be repelled painfully back to the start by his barrier.

Soon enough, as Luminix said, Awakers start appearing in the maze, fairly close to Laura's location. Laura's smart enough to know, judging by their name, that Awakers will force the person to wake up. As much as she'd like to do so to end this nightmare, she does not want to leave NiGHTS alone to deal with Luminix. Though with the Awakers swarming the maze, finding NiGHTS may prove to be a challenge in itself.

"_Darn it…where could she be?"_ NiGHTS thought to himself as he continues flying through the maze. He soon spots the Awakers. _"No! They're already here!"_ he thought.

He quickly went to a group of Awakers and paralooped them before they could react, sending them away. NiGHTS knew how quickly Awakers work, and knew he had to find Laura fast. He flew through the maze as fast as he could, searching left and right for her. Finding the exit could wait, he needed to get her before the Awakers did. Laura, on the other hand, was fending for herself, seeing Awakers around every corner she turned. Thankfully she had a few of the blue chips, she had been using them to stun some of them so she could make her way through the maze.

"Stay away from me!" She shouted at them as she continued to run through.

A few awakers started to chase her, and she was low on chips, she looked and saw them coming. No second thought entered her mind but to run. And running is what she did, not caring WHERE she'd end up, just so long as the Awakers stopped chasing.

Closer and closer they get, each second passing spells trouble for Laura as she is unable to outrun the Awakers. Losing her breath, she starts to slow down, giving the Awakers the chance to catch her. Unable to run anymore, Laura finally gives in and collapses onto the ground, out of breath. She silently says goodbye to NiGHTS as she knows she'll never get to see him again. And then…

Silence.

Laura soon opened her eyes to see that the Awakers were nowhere to be found. She thought she was dreaming until she looked up and saw a familiar purple Nightmaren staring down at her. She immediately got back up and hugged NiGHTS.

"I thought I'd never find you! I'm so sorry for doubting you" Laura shouted

"Hey it's ok. We're friends, remember?" NiGHTS reminded her, "And friends always stick together, no matter what" to that, Laura simply nodded and smiled. "Now what do you say we take down that creep together?"

"I'm with you" she replied, then the two dualized and flew through to the end of the maze.

As they flew through the rest of the maze, NiGHTS explained how he found Laura and defeated all of the Awakers by paralooping them.

At the end, just as he said, Luminix was waiting. His psychokinetic shield giving him a bird's eye view of the maze, he was able to see the on goings within.

"So they found one another, hm? This will be more fun than I expected" he muttered to himself, "Excellent. Time to get my magic show going then"

The remainder of the maze was easy for NiGHTS and Laura as the two flew passed everything, making sure not to touch the barrier. When they reached the end, the two looked around and soon saw Luminix, sitting on a chair shaped rock resting his head on his hand.

"It took a lot longer than I expected from you, especially you NiGHTS," Luminix stated as he stood up and floated, "but, I congratulate you both for reaching the end"

"Enough of your games, Luminix, let's settle this right now!" NiGHTS responded, clearly in an agitated mood.

"So impatient. If that's what you want, then I guess I should oblige," Luminix responded, floating up higher and spreading his arms, "Sit back and relax, as I give you the magic show of a lifetime, for this is one you'll be dying to see!"

NiGHTS and Laura looked at him, ready and waiting for the upcoming battle.

"Hahahaha, I hope you're ready, NiGHTS" Luminix stated as he prepared.


End file.
